Woman, 2 children found dead in Miami area home

MIAMI -- Police are investigating after a neighbor found a 29-year-old woman and her two young daughters dead inside their home near Miami.

Miami-Dade detective Roy Rutland told The Miami Herald the neighbor smelled an odor Tuesday and went inside the house to find its source. There, she found Gladys Machado in a closet. Machado's daughters, 4-year-old Daniela Patrino and 8-year-old Julia Padrino, were next to her.

Police say the woman's 6-year-old son was safe with his grandmother.

Friends and family members - including the children's father - gathered outside the home Tuesday as police continued their investigation.

Neighbors told the newspaper that Machado lived with a boyfriend who had recently been released from jail.

Police have not released the manner of death. No further details were immediately available.